Extreme cold tapering off, but extreme snow may fall after Christmas
- Mark Sabbatini
- 13 hours ago
- 3 min read
Juneau breaks cold-temperature records three of the past four days; forecast calls for possibility of significant snowfall over several days beginning Friday
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Juneau is expected to go from extreme cold to merely very cold starting Tuesday, but the slow increase in temperatures during the next few days also means there is "high probability of another long-duration snow event" beginning Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Low-temperature records were set three of the past four days at Juneau International Airport, according to NWS Juneau. Those included minus 6°F on Friday (exceeding minus 3°F in 1980), minus 7°F on Saturday (exceeding minus 5°F in 1955) and minus 10°F on Monday (exceeding minus 3°F in 1972).
Juneau’s airport got something of a break during the winter solstice on Sunday with a low of 6°F (above zero), far above the record of minus 6°F in 1955. But that didn’t necessarily apply to other portions of town most affected by the cold snap.
"The reason being was the wind," Spencer Fielding, a NWS Juneau meteorologist, said Tuesday morning. "The winds at the airport kept the temperatures warmer, whereas with places in the Valley where there was no winds obviously were able to get really cold."
An extreme cold weather warning is set to end at noon Tuesday, although a cold weather advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m., according to NWS Juneau’s website. A high wind warning affecting primarily downtown and Douglas also remains in in effect in 9 p.m. Tuesday.
"For the High Wind Warning, northeast winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 60 mph," the website notes. "For the Extreme Cold Warning, extremely cold wind chill temperatures as low as 20 below. For the Cold Weather Advisory, dangerously cold wind chill temperatures as low as 10 below expected."
Fielding said forecasters are hoping to release an initial forecast by late in the day Tuesday about the likelihood of serious snowfall beginning Friday, as well as how much might fall over a period of several days. An alert about the possibility of such a storm was posted at the weather service’s website Monday afternoon.
"A quick-moving low pressure system will track through the eastern gulf Wednesday night through Thursday, bringing light snow to the central and southern areas," the website notes. "Then, a forecasted plume of moisture will move into the area beginning late Friday, with active weather lasting into next week. With cold air in place, and no significant warm up expected between now and this weekend, this plume of moisture would result in significant snowfall that would last through the weekend."
However, there is uncertainty about how much precipitation may occur and if a surge of warm air from the south could result in rain rather than snow, according to the website.
The forecast for Christmas Day on Thursday is for high temperatures of about 15°F in the Mendenhall Valley and 20°F in downtown Juneau, with a change of snow and winds up to about 10 miles per hour — far below the gusts of more than 70 mph that have occurred in recent days.
Snow is likely beginning Friday and continuing through at least Monday, with heavy accumulations expected Friday night and Saturday. High temperatures are expected to reach about 30°F starting Saturday, with lows in the 20s.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
